The Burden of Power Series

 

Story Notes:

Type: Drama, Angst, AU

Rating: PG

Spoilers: Set after “Full Circle.”  Possible references from the Movie and Seasons 1-10

 

Author’s Note: This series continues the story told in “The Price of Knowledge” novel, but I’ve tried to tell it so you don’t have to read the novel first to understand it.  However, reading the TPOK novel would *enhance* your reading experience.

 

Special thanks (blame?) to: Char, who figured out as early as chapter 5 of TPOK that challenging me to write a “series, series, series” was bound to produce results; Anne, who took up the cry and held my hand whenever I needed extra encouragement; and Lois, who explained the differences between a WIP and a series.  Hopefully, I’m doing it right.

 

 

Rules and Consequences

 

 

             The tea kettle splintered the morning silence with a piercing whistle.  Jack paused in his shaving to call, “Daniel!  Get that, wouldja?”

             A moment later, the tea kettle was silent.  Jack finished quickly, the memory of yesterday’s disaster still vivid in his mind.  Breakfast was a dangerous business in his household.  He jogged into the dining room just in time to see a mug filled with steaming water float from the kitchen.  Jack plucked the mug out of mid-air and turned a scowl on Daniel.

             “I thought I told you not to do that.”

             Daniel looked up from piling strawberry jam on his toast.  “I stopped the orange juice first.”

             As he spoke, the jug suspended in mid-air in front of him tipped downward and completed its interrupted task of pouring orange juice into a glass.  Yesterday, the combined task of orange-juice-pouring and hot-water-pouring had resulted in both liquids on the floor.  Daniel’s control wasn’t as refined as he liked to believe.

             Jack watched the jug hover and then settle safely onto the table.  Following a yearlong stint in Oma’s Glow Worm Club, Daniel had been descended almost two months ago as a six year old with only scattered memories of the years before his ascension.  However, he had returned with almost all of the knowledge and abilities of his ascended self.  He took the term “gifted child” to an entirely new level.  His appointed guardian, one Colonel Jack O’Neill, was still struggling to come to grips with the odd occurrences that were now a part of their daily lives.

             Jack slid into a chair next to Daniel.  Daniel extended a sticky finger and touched  the underside of Jack’s chin.  A tingling warmth spread over the area.  When Daniel pulled away with a satisfied smile, Jack rubbed at the spot until both the tingles and the stickiness were gone.

             “What was that?”

             “You were bleeding.”  Daniel shrugged, bit into his jam-laden toast, and mumbled through a mouthful, “I fixed it.”

             Jack sighed and decided to change the subject.  “You’re gonna rot your teeth with all that jam.”

             Daniel offered a cheeky grin.  “You’re the adult.  Do something about it.”

             Jack sighed again.  Daniel looked six—actually, younger than six since he was a short, scrawny kid—but the few adult memories still in place in that six-year-old brain were enough to make him sound and act older.  Lately, they were manifesting in a “push the boundaries” game that Jack knew he’d have to crack down on pretty soon.  If he could figure out how.  He liked his furniture.  The temper tantrum of a once-ascended child was bound to be destructive.

             “Watch the mouth,” he warned.

             The reprimand served its purpose.  Daniel apologized, hunching his shoulders.  The way Daniel became instantly ashamed of misbehavior was another reason Jack hadn’t proceeded to sterner measures.

             Jack added a scoop of instant coffee to his mug of hot water.  Daniel made a face.

             “Eww.  That’s so gross, Jack.”

             Daniel was only allowed coffee on special occasions, but his adult tastes had apparently descended with the rest of him.  He had very specific ideas on what constituted good coffee, and the instant stuff was a definite no-no.

             “Yeah, well, the coffee grinder’s still broke.”

             Daniel bit his lip, the earlier look of shame intensifying.

             Last week, Daniel had used his “powers” in an attempt to speed up the coffee grinder.  Jack had arrived on the scene moments after the smoke alarm blared.  They’d taken the machine to Carter, who examined its melted innards and declared it dead.  Guilt-stricken, Daniel spent the entire morning composing an apology.  While Daniel was engaged in “the hour of physical activity” with Teal’c, Jack tracked down Doctor Allyssa  Michaels, head of the linguistics department who was responsible for most of Daniel’s schooling, and asked her to decipher the note.  First, because Daniel was still re-learning how to write and his handwriting was atrocious.  And second, as Ally soon informed him, because it consisted of various forms of “I’m sorry” written in twenty-some different languages, Daniel’s multilingualism being one of the few adult skills that Daniel had retained.

             Remembering the solemnity with Daniel had handed over the note, Jack knew there was another reason why he hadn’t imposed discipline yet.  Sooner or later, Daniel punished himself far more stringently than anyone else could.

             “If I knew how it worked, I could fix it,” Daniel said.

             “I told you, it’s no big deal.  We’ll buy a new one next time I’m off.  I can drink this stuff till then.  It’s no different than the commissary coffee.”

             Daniel gave an exaggerated shudder.  He had strong opinions about the commissary coffee too.

             Jack poured himself a bowl of cereal and waited while Daniel floated the milk over to him.  “Thanks.  How’d it go yesterday?”

             Yesterday had marked SG-1’s first mission since Daniel’s return.  It was a quick look-see, ten hours at the most.  Jack had dropped Daniel off at Janet’s house in the morning and then picked up his sleepy kid late last evening.  Daniel still wasn’t ready for a sleepover.  Neither was Jack.

             “Good.  Cassie and I played lots of games, and when Janet got home, she made pa-sketti for supper, ’cept it wasn’t as good as yours, but I didn’t tell her that cuz that wouldn’t have been nice.  And, Jack, guess what?  Cassie said when I was big, I was a doctor three times!”

             His mouth full of cereal, Jack could only grunt in response.

             Daniel nodded hard.  “Yep.  Of ark-ology and ant-apology and filligy.  Ally’s a doctor of filligy too, isn’t she?”

             “That’s why she’s the linguine head.”

             Daniel rolled his eyes.  “Linguistics, Jack.  You should say words right so I don’t pick up bad habits.  You always tell everyone I’m a ’pressionable child.  How come you say things wrong all the time anyway?”

             “Reverse psychology.  Every time I pronounce something wrong, you correct me and get it right.”

             Daniel opened his mouth as if to refute that statement and froze, the realization slowly dawning over his face that Jack was right.  Jack grinned.  It was always good when he reduced Daniel to speechlessness.

             Jack’s triumph was short-lived.  Daniel gave himself a little shake and recovered his vocal chords with his usual rapidity.  “Cassie told Janet she was never going to be three doctors, no way José, so Janet better not get used to the idea.  And I asked why not, and she said it was too much work.  So I asked how come I did it if it was so much work, and Janet said it musta been cuz I liked learning lots.  And I do, Jack!  Janet and Cassie told me all about school, and I think I should prob’ly go so I can be three doctors ’gain.  Can I go to school?  Huh?  Can I please?”

             Daniel blinked, blue eyes all wide and innocent.

             And it was so not a good idea.  Without even pondering it, Jack could think of a half dozen problems with the school scenario.  Daniel loved to talk, and he knew stuff—classified stuff.  Daniel was practically classified himself.  The NID were still harping about how Daniel’s ascended knowledge needed to be studied and contained.  They’d go ballistic at the thought of Daniel unsupervised in a public setting.  Not that Jack cared much about the NID’s opinions, but he wasn’t sure he himself was ready for Daniel to venture out on his own.

             Jack hedged, “I thought you liked learning at the SGC.”

             “I do!  Janet teaches me ’bout my body, and Sam teaches me ’bout computers and math and science stuff, and Ally teaches me writing and history, and Jonas teaches me ’bout the aliens you visit, and Teal’c teaches me how to exercise right and how to fall so I don’t get hurt.  And Siler lets me help him fix things.  The SGC’s lotsa fun.  But…”

             “But?”

             Daniel gnawed on his lower lip for a moment and then said in a rush, “There aren’t any other kids there.”

 

 

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Disclaimer:  The Stargate characters all belong to Gekko Film Company, Glassner/Wright Double Secret Productions, MGM-UA Worldwide Television, Showtime, Sci Fi Channel, and Stargate SG-1 Prod. Ltd. Partnership.  This fanfic is not intended to infringe on any of those rights and is meant solely for the purpose of entertainment.  All other characters, the story idea, and the story itself are the sole property of the author.